Six months after its November 2025 theatrical release, Glen Powell’s Stephen King sci-fi action film The Running Man is climbing on streaming charts, landing at #8 on Prime Video’s U.S. Top 10 Movies list and taking the #1 spot on Paramount+—even after a box-o
By the time The Running Man hit streaming, it had already lived through the hardest part: theaters.
Directed by Edgar Wright and starring Glen Powell. the sci-fi action film—based on Stephen King’s novel—entered theaters on November 11. 2025. Ben Richards (Powell) is selected to compete in the deadly reality show The Running Man. where he has to survive 30 days without being killed by the network’s hunters for a chance to win $1 billion.
Six months later, the movie is finding a different kind of audience. On Prime Video’s Top 10 Movies in the United States earlier this week, The Running Man sits at #8, positioned between Balls Up and Battleship. On Paramount+, it is currently #1.
The shift matters because the theatrical numbers never matched the ambition. Since its release, The Running Man has been unable to break even at the box office, generating only $69 million worldwide—below its reported budget of $110 million.
Critics and viewers, though, have been more receptive. The film holds a 61% critics’ score and a 77% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The divide has shown up in the commentary. too: critics have said the film loses its “dystopian edge” as it tries to become more entertaining. leaning into the reality-TV side of the story. Fans have also been effusive about Powell’s turn as the lead. with CBR praising his performance as evidence that he deserves his “Hollywood Star” status.
In a Collider review, Aidan Kelley gave The Running Man a score of 8/10. He praised Powell’s performance, calling him “everything you would want from a dystopian protagonist.” He also highlighted the action-packed scenes, while saying the film struggled to balance its many characters.
Somewhere between the hunt-and-survive premise and Powell’s presence, the movie is now getting a second chance to be judged on momentum rather than opening-week survival.
Glen Powell The Running Man Stephen King Edgar Wright Prime Video Paramount+ sci-fi action streaming charts
Wait so it’s #1 on Paramount+ now?? That’s crazy I thought it bombed in theaters.
Prime numbers don’t lie or whatever, lol. But if it only made 69 million and the budget was 110, that’s still a loss right? Streaming might fix it though I guess.
They said it loses its “dystopian edge” so like… did they turn it into a comedy or something? I saw one clip where it looks super serious, so idk. Also Glen Powell is just always charming so maybe people forgive it.
The Running Man is basically Hunger Games but with hunters, right? I swear every time something flops theaters it magically climbs streaming charts like 2 weeks later. Critics score 61% and audience 77% which sounds like half the internet didn’t even watch the whole thing. Also $1 billion prize? The network would just cancel the show after like day 2… unless they’re rigging it like WWE.